The present invention relates to a disposable wearing article adapted for absorption and retention of bodily wastes.
There has already been proposed a disposable diaper having a front waist region, a rear waist region and a crotch region extending between these waist regions and comprising a liquid-pervious topsheet facing the wearer, a liquid-impervious backsheet facing away from the wearer and a liquid-absorbent core interposed between these top- and backsheets and extending between the front and rear waist regions. The core consists of an upper layer core and a lower layer core overlapping each other in a thickness direction of the diaper. Such a diaper is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1996-196565 (hereinafter referred to as “Citation”).
The upper layer core comprises, in turn, a front core extending from the front waist region into the crotch region and a rear core extending from the crotch region into the rear waist region. Ends of the front and rear cores facing each other are spaced in a back-and-forth direction by a predetermined dimension. Between these ends of the front and rear cores facing each other, the lower layer core covered with the topsheet is exposed. The topsheet covering the upper surface of the upper layer core are folded downward toward the lower layer core along the respective ends of the front and rear cores facing each other, the lower layer core covered with the topsheet is exposed. The topsheet covering the upper surface of the upper layer core are folded downward toward the lower layer core along the respective ends of the front and rear cores facing each other and folded into a space defined between the upper layer core and the lower layer core. In this diaper of prior art, difference in level between is defined between the front and rear cores, i.e., the upper layer core and the lower layer core in the crotch region so that the ends of the front and rear cores facing each other may cooperate with the lower layer core to form a pocket depressed in a thickness direction of the diaper.
In the case of the diaper disclosed in Citation, however, respective lower surfaces of the front and rear cores readily come in contact with the upper surface of the lower layer core and it is difficult for this known diaper to form a desired space between the front core and the lower layer core as sell as to form a desired space between the rear core and the lower layer core. Even if bodily wastes moves into the pocket formed in the crotch region, body wastes can not be properly received between the front core and the lower layer core as well as between the rear core and the lower layer core. Even if a limited space is formed between the front and rear cores and the lower layer core, it is impossible for such limited space to accommodate a large amount of bodily waste which rather spreads over a wide section of the upper surfaces of the front and rear cores and/or the lower layer core. Consequently, urine and feces of bodily wastes may be mixed with each other and the wearer's skin may be contaminated with such a mixture. Furthermore, the upper layer core and the lower layer core are placed upon each other in the front and rear waist regions and thickness dimensions of the core in the front and rear waist regions are unacceptably increased to make the core bulky in these waist regions. Such a bulkiness may create a feeling of discomfort against the wearer.